Compostable eco bags

Young business owner Trsitan Bauer of Coogee has created a bio-degradable, compostable shopping bag.

With 4.5 billion plastic bags used by Australian’s each year and growing momentum for a national ban on all light weight plastic bags, business owner and Coogee resident Tristan Bauer has used his initiative to develop an innovative and environmentally-friendly shopping solution.

At just 25, he has formed Innergreen, a company that has developed Australia’s first range of bio-fibre products which include a non-woven, reusable shopping bag made entirely of corn starch.

Identical in appearance to the green, reusable bags found in Woolworths which are made from plastic, Mr Bauer’s product is the first of its kind to be made from a renewable resource which is also 100 per cent biodegradable and compostable.

“We’ve started working with big designers and the raw products are starting to appear in craft shops. Bio-plastics like the ones we use are starting to boom.

“They’re plant-based plastics and they can be broken down within six months. They are such an amazing resource for the environment and the industry really needs something like this,” he said.

“Unfortunately at 25, it’s difficult to get in contact with the CEO of Woolworths and say ‘hey look, here’s a great product and I can match the green bags in price’,” the young entrepreneur explained. “They’d tell me to come back in 10 years. But I’m thinking of doing some guerilla campaigning outside the big supermarkets, to get the public’s attention!”

08.12.2010. 04:21

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